Jan 6, 2009

I guarantee even picky eaters will love these! Serve them as an appetizer or as a side dish. They are healthy and low in points and guiltlessly delicious! My daughter loves, loves, loves these. It's her favorite way to eat zucchini and her only complaint is that I don't make enough.

In a small bowl, beat egg whites and season with salt and pepper. In a ziplock bag, place breadcrumbs, garlic powder and cheese and shake well. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray and set aside.

Dip zucchini sticks into eggs then into bread crumb and cheese mixture, a few at a time and shake to coat. Place the breaded zucchini in a single layer and spray more cooking spray on top. Bake at 425° for about 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve with 1/2 cup marinara sauce for dipping.

221 comments
:

These sound delicious! I am going to have to try these! Do you think they would work with green beans as well? I'd think so and probably be a better, healthier version that the high fat ones from TGIFridays.

Hi! I just came across your website though Tastespotting. It's great to see a website that features gorgeous pictures of good for you foods! I lost over 100 pounds on Weight Watchers, and still follow the plan now. I've since gone vegan, but many of your recipes can be adapted to be vegan if they aren't already. Awesome site!

@Em Thanks for pointing that out, they are vegetarian, not vegan. I changed the tag. For vegans, you could probably toss them in a little olive oil to bind them, but of course that would add some points.

AMAZING! I made both the zucchini sticks and the marinara (slightly modified because I am gluten free so I used GF bread crumbs) and they are GREAT! Thanks so much for being a place to try new things, this was a first for me!

These look fantastic and when I made them they tasted fantastic. I can't figure out how to make 1/3 breadcrumbs work though. I had to increase the points because there weren't enough breadcrumbs for three medium zucchini.

made these yesterday ! They were delicous... the only problem i had was half way through the bread crumbs werent sticking because they were too wet, next time i will split it in half and add more dry bread crumb as needed ! They were Delicous! I even made them a few hours earlier and they got crunchier when i re heated it!

Came home after work today, after much mulling about dinner. Decided to "sacrifice" some of my first-of-the-season zucchini and yellow squash to make this recipe and the Zucchini Casserole (along with some soup made with the stock from the bones of last night's Chicken Parmigiana!) Anyway, they were nearly of the same size I usually wait to harvest anyway.

Another wow, Wow, WOW! Love the taste, the crispy texture and that great crunch sound these make from the crust and the slightly dehydrated zucchini. Truthfully, I've never really been a fan of breaded zucchini because it is usually soggy with oil, overly breaded and tasteless. All those calories for so little. Let me tell you, this is exactly the opposite! Gina's daughter is right. (Cheated: used leftover marinara from last night.)

Yeah, lucky in the gardening respect. I live in a warm area of Oakland, CA -so plenty of sunshine, no fog like areas surrounding me, and temperatures between 60 and 75 degrees most of the year. It's hit or miss with eggplant, bell peppers and some other warm season crops, but zucchini and yellow squash seem to thrive here. I harvested 9 yesterday, all about 5 inches long, and the 4 plants only have about 6 leaves each. I expect my first cherry tomatoes in 2 weeks! Got to get to work; I'm making the Cauliflower Soup (decided to splurge on the 1 point version), Eggplant Pamigiana (need to use up the rest of the sauce and cheese) and also a WW recipe from their website, Zucchini with Tomatoes and Mint that my co-worker practically lives on.

Gina...I've been using your recipe site for a few weeks now and I absolutely love every dish! These Zuchini sticks hit a craving for fried food and I think they taste better your way than with all the fat.

I just came across your site and I'm so excited! I just made these b/c I had a zuchini in the fridge that I had no idea what to do with. They are FABULOUS!!! This is a great site, looking forward to trying out more of the recipes!

ok Gina your my new best friend. I just made this as an appetizer for my husband and his friend for the football game. Put them on the coffee table walked to the kitchen to wash the cookie sheet turned around and they were gone! WOW! They were begging for more. Glad I saved a few sticks on the counter for myself. I think this will be requsted for every game. THANK YOU!

i love this site and have made the cauliflower fritters & the parmesean crusted turket cutlets.. YUM. tonight will be the shrimp & zuchinni w/ bowties & these zuchinni sticks... my question is what is a serving size that = 1.33 pts?THANKS SO MUCH!

I have just started weight watchers and have been looking for awesome recipes like these. Thanks so much! We are actually having these tonight with dinner. I have also started a blog to document my weight loss journey. Can't wait to try all of your delicious recipes. :)

I made these last night and WOW! My girlfriend is also on WW and is very picky so I was nervous she wouldn't like it but to my surprise she loved it! We paired it with a Boli whole wheat pizza (no cheese...lots of veggies) and had a fun dinner! Thank you Gina, can't wait to try another recipe!

I just wanted to post again how wonderful this recipe is. I have since taken to eating them dipped in the WW ranch dressing (1 cup 2% greek yogurt, 1 cup low fat buttermilk, 1 pkg Hidden Valley Ranch. The little bit of fat in the yogurt really intensifies the flavor; I used to use 0% but the 1 pt. difference for 2 cups isn't worth it). Glorious. There are never enough. So crispy, delicious and satisfying.

I made these tonight! Fantastic! My hubby and my picky 2 year old ate them up. Also the marinara recipe is superb! I just added a bit of Italian seasoning and garlic salt to taste. These are comparable to eating a french fry or a bread stick with your meal, only way way better for you!

I am trying to go gluten free, so I substituted ground flax for the breadcrumbs. It worked like a charm. These are sooooooo delicious! And I know my veggie-lovin' hubbs is gonna adore these. So nice to have some variety in how to fix zucchini. I agree w/ the poster above who said the fried version is greasy, overbreaded and tasteless compared to these. Thanks again!

ORGASMIC!!! Just made these for a late afternoon snack. Hadn't actually eaten anything today, so I gobbled them up. Now I am disappointed that I only made one zucchini. I do have two more in the fridge.

I made these for a light lunch today with yellow squash and onions that I got yesterday at the Farmer's Market. Fabulous! Onion slices worked better than rings because the rings cooked really quickly. The yellow squash turned out perfectly. Thanks Gina!

Made these last night and they are DELISH! I also made some pickles along with it but made the mistake of not cutting the spears smaller, but still turned out pretty decent. I was alsmost scared to eat too many because they tasted too good for it to be a small amount of points!

I made these tonight along with your White Bean Crusting (which were excellent by the way) however these were a total flop. They were soft, never firmed up in the oven and the breading didn't stick after the first handful. I actually ate them all (luckily they were so low in fat) before my guests came since they were so hideous.Oh well, I have loved many things on your site like your South Western Black Bean Salad this was the only flop to date. - Heather

I am so thrilled that this site was shared with me. I'm not one to try new recipes...and have been looking at your site for probaby the last 2-3 months. Well- I dove in and made the petite turkey meatloafs on Monday and then tonight made the zuchini sticks. They were both so awesome and simple. I can't wait to make more. Typically with WW recipes I make them and end up tossing them out. Can't wait to try more recipes. - Josie

I just tried this and I love them! I didn't have bread crumbs so I used Wasa crisp'n light crackers. I used 3 for only 1 point! I put the zucchini sticks on a paper plate and sprinkled on the "breadcrumbs" . so so yummy. Gina, you have created a great web site here. It's the best I have ever seen for Weight Watchers!

YUM!!! My teenage son is requesting that I make these again. They never made it off the baking sheet to the serving plate - they were soooo good we couldn't stop ourselves. Thank you for the great recipes that help us keep on plan :)

These are without a doubt amazing!!! I really love your recipes.....i'm a bit new to your site but i've made about 4 of your recipes so far......your awesome thanks for taking your time out like this!!!

So Good! Tried tonight. I lost a lot of weight on ww but encountered a plateau. I'm doing Medifast for a short while and was able to adapt this recipe for MF as well. So good. I cut the zucchini a littler thinner to make it crispier. My new replacement for french fries:) yum yum yummy!:)

Just found your site Gina... WOW!! EVERYTHING looks and sounds AmaZiNG!! Makes me wish I wasn't going out of town this weekend. Would love to just stay home and whip up a batch of these tempting recipes instead!

Your photos are fabulous! Do you do your own photography? I could just eat the food straight out of the picture!

Have been on WW for 2 weeks now and doing well. This site will be my lifesaver to stick with the plan easily! Thank you, thank you!

Cant wait to try these, as with all the other recipes on your site! :) We go to an Italian restaurant and we always order fried zucchini, but we hate how its drenched in oil... Anyways, I am so glad I came across this recipe! Seems like a great way to use up breadcrumbs, which I rarely use, as well as zucchini before it goes bad! Love it:) Delish! This seems like an amazing afternoon snack!

These were so good - I made them TWICE this weekend. Even my picky hubs thought they were good and gobbled this right up! I've been doing WW for a few weeks now, and have basically been making your recipes every night. Thanks so much for helping me out! I love to cook, and you make it so easy (especially after a busy day at the office)! Thanks Gina!! :)

By the way, I've passed your website on to a ton of friends and family because everything has been so good!

Made this tonight and most of the sticks weren't coated with crumbs. Still very delish! 1/2 c marinara sauce per serving of zucchini sticks is a lot for one person. I poured 1 cup and sauce barely went down.

I had so much zucchini over the summer that I made these almost every other day! I actually stopped at the grocery store on the way home last night because I have been craving them, didn't find time to make them last night but will tonight! Love these as a snack!

Thank you! I feel like I just ate all of my daily points! These are so yummy and ever since I started weight watchers (a week ago) I have been craving something that was fried! This is exactly what I needed... the best part, I only used 3 of my points!! this will become a favorite snack for my family. Thank you so much.

Loved this recipe! I had onion chunks left over from another recipe & coated them as well, like the zucchini. It was just like eating a blooming onion!!! The whole family loved it. Flavor but without the dripping grease. Thanks for your site!

I have made these twice so far and even my picky veggie eater husband will eat them. It was hard for him to admit that he liked the. Same for my son. He liked them until he found out it was zucchini. :-) Although now he admits he likes them.

DELICIOUS!!We had this for dinner tonight and it was so good. And I admit, I was skeptical as I am not a big zucchini fan. This was GREAT!My husband liked it as well as my kids-boys, ages 7 & 4. We had an entire finger-food meal: the zucchini sticks, string cheese, and some Italian bread. Very good. My 7yo told me to make this again & again.

Thank you, Gina!And to anyone out there debating about trying this, do it! You'll be glad you did. :)

We tried these tonight and while they were good, they didn't look as good as your do in the photo. I don't think mine tasted as good, either (HA HA!) But we enjoyed them.

My BIG thank you is for the tomato recommendation. I have always just bought whatever but those Tuttorosso crushed tomatoes made all of the difference in the world! They are now my new favorite as well. I can't wait to make something else with marinara just because I can!

Hi Gina,I have been cooking your recipes for the past month, I love everything so far and I am excited to keep trying :) I have a few zucchinis in my garden but they are huge! I made the turkey stuffed zucchini recipe tonight and it was helpful that you gave the weight, what weight would you consider a "medium" zucchini? Just trying to stay true to the points! I have told EVERYONE about your website, it is amazing, thank you thank you thank you!

Thanks for the recipe! I used Egg Beaters (instead of whites), reduced fat parmesan (the sprinkle kind in the green shaker) instead of the romano, and added some Jamaican curry powder to the dry ingredients to make it spicy. Served it with heart healthy Prego for dipping. My Big Man says "I'd eat these again". They passed the test! Huzzah! 4 stars out of 5!

We had the greatest deep fried pickle chips recently, I am going to try this with them and your delish homemade bluecheese dressing (which I have been eating all week). Probably have to lay the pickles out on paper towels to dry some of the juice off. Do you think it could work?

These were wonderful! I've tried to make baked zucchini sticks before but they have never turned out very well. Thanks for the great recipe! This is the first recipe I've made from your site and I can't wait to try more! Tomorrow we're having your chicken pot pie soup for dinner :)

Absolutely delicious! I worked at an Italian restaurant and I ate a fried version of these nearly every night (hence my weight watchers subscription). These are just as good if not better than the fatty fried version!! The marinara sauce is also delicious. As a garlic LOVER I am always tempted to add extra garlic to everything I make, but this had the perfect amount. I wouldn't change a thing. So glad I get to eat one of my old favorites again... without all the guilt.

These are amazing! Very crispy and the sauce is so easy to make and has great flavor! They take a bit longer than things I usually make so my boyfriend and I have cooked them on weekends as a treat. Great finger food when sitting around watching our favorite tv show on Sunday night! Thanks for all your amazing recipes!

I love love love your blog. The recipes are healthy and easy to make. A must for me as a working mom of a one year old daughter. I want to make these zuccini sticks but from past breading experience, is there any solution to my fingers getting all gooey and then the breading not sticking onto the food? ---Jolie

First of all, I LOVE your site! My husband and I aren't doing WW but we did recently decide to start doing all of our own cooking and be more healthy in general. I made these this week and they were great; my husband admitted, without being asked, that he was a "big fan" which surprised me a lot!

However, I sort of expected them to be at least a little crunchy, or more rigid, or something; ours were quite floppy and soggy, hard to eat as a finger food. I did have to add another egg and more breadcrumbs halfway through because I ran out, though I think my zucchinis may have been a little too large. Any ideas on how to make these more crispy? Cook them longer?

Tried these last night. OMG they were sooooo good. Even my two year old and 16 month old were walking around eating them. I felt like a mom champion LOL. I have already shared your site with three people!

These are so good! I made them and my husband practically inhaled them ;) I was hoping the kids would be tricked into liking them, but no such luck. Doesn't matter though...I'll definitely be making them again! I peeled them - didn't realize the skin should be left on. They were great anyway....would definitely make a bunch for something like a Superbowl party and just watch them disappear!

SO good!! I used panko and canjun seasoning instead of the breadcrumbs and it is amazing. Perfect for a snack, but definitely not for a meal. They got a little soggy after about 20 minutes, so you have to eat these sort of fast. But I give them an 8/10 :)

Thank you for this recipe!!! They were delicious and it is my new favorite side dish/appetizer!!! We had them without the marinara and they were fabulous. I made them as a side dish with your Chicken Francese Light, and a rice pilaf and it was all perfect. Thank you for the love and care you put into this site- after stumbling on your recipes I now love to cook again!! =)

Far tastier and more delicious than the traditional oil-soaked, soggy zucchini. I'll try these next time with your buttermilk dressing that I plan to whip up soon. Your website is great, Gina, and an important tool in my WW program. Thank you for sharing your ideas (and calculating points for us!) and creating simple, healthy, varied, and accessible recipes that do not skip on taste. -Lizette

Tried tonight- had a lot of trouble getting breading to stick! They were soggy and the kids hated them. But, from reading above comments I think I made the sticks too big and will try again very soon. I really want to love them as much as I think I could :)

I made these tonight to have with some left over gourmet pizza and even though they didn't turn out quite right, they were still delicious. My zuchini was monstrous (I didn't even use the entire thing) so my slices were probably too large. Due to egg and yeast allergies I made some changes. As an egg replacement, I tried dipping in a mix of olive oil and melted coconut spread (butter substitute). And for the breadcrumbs I ground up some Wheat Thins Flatbread crackers as I usually do for breading adding the Kraft graded Parmesan for cheese. I realize that with all of the changes, the recipe is then quite different...Even with all of the changes, the flavor was GREAT, especially dipped in Ranch. Mine did turn out pretty soft, some even mushy, after 30 min in the oven. A lot probably had to do with the oil mixture. Next time I'll slice them thinner and use soymilk instead, maybe even broil vs. 425?Thanks again for the great recipe!

I made these tonight with Italian breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese, like the Healthy Baked Chicken Nuggets, and cooked them both at the same time. My son, who swears he hates zucchini, loved it! Thanks so much for your great recipes! =)

Paired mine with salsa instead of marinara and I used about one and a half zucchini's to use up almost all of the 1/3 cup of bread crumbs. Used 2 tbs of fat free Parmesan cheese instead the Romano cheese because that's what I had on hand, and these still came out so good!

Thank you for posting this awesome reicepie. Just curious, can you make them all the way to baking them and freeze them so they are ready in a pinch. Or later in the season when my zucchini plants are dead?

Just got done making these and they turned out great! I absolutely love fried zucchini restaurant style, but am trying to lose weight and this was the next best thing. My mother mmmm'd through her whole plate full lol i did substitute the romano for parmasen cheese, will have to try romano next time. thank you for the great recipe!